


Master of the Cap

by Haayls



Category: The Legend of Zelda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-09
Updated: 2014-01-09
Packaged: 2018-01-08 02:49:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1127473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haayls/pseuds/Haayls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sequel to Tales Of A Forgotten Minish, Vaati is on a mission to find the light force and become all-powerful. But when he comes across a young demon boy name Doom that decides to help him, things start to shake up. But can Doom really be trusted?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Master of the Cap

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! The sequel to ToaFM! I'm going to say it up-front, this one isn't as good as the first one but regardless, I hope you enjoy it anyway. Also, a disclaimer because some people in the past have gotten confused: Doom is not Shadow Link! Shadow Link was created by Ganondorf using the Mirror of Darkness! This story does not contain Shadow Link! Doom is Doom. Shadow Link is Shadow Link.

Chapter I (1)  
The red wish-granting cap lay across the wooden desk in Ezlo’s office. The smell of musty old books filled the room along with the scent of the nice summer breeze blowing in through the opened window.  
Vaati, who was no longer the nice, kind, fun-loving ten-year old he used to be, was now at the strapping age of fifteen. At first he couldn’t believe that he had waited five years for him to cause a problem that he was just about to begin. But it takes a lot of time and planning for a scheme to work out just perfectly.  
Another thing Vaati wondered was why Ezlo had finished the hat way back when, but hadn’t done anything with it yet. But a few days ago, Vaati remembered that Ezlo said he was waiting for the Picori Festival, which was held only once a year. It also meant that this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity for him to get what he was after. The festival was tomorrow, so Vaati knew he had to make haste.  
Alright, Vaati told himself, ‘This is it! This is the big time! If you screw this up you’ll never get what you want!’ Vaati nodded as if he were telling Ezlo that he would obey. Rubbing his hands together, Vaati reached out and snatched the cap from Ezlo’s freshly polished desk. Just then, with just a few words coming from behind, it broke his concentration and made him jump for a second.  
“Vaati! What do you think you’re doing?!” Vaati whirled around. Ezlo was standing there with a cautious look on his face. He knew that after all that had happened to Vaati five years earlier, Vaati would normally lose his temper, disobey Ezlo, and get into trouble, that letting him use this hat was a bad notion.  
Not the least bit bothered of the consequences, the boy slipped the red cap onto his head of soft, purple hair. ‘I wish to be the most powerful sorcerer in the world!’ Vaati thought and the hat read his mind. For a second or two, Vaati couldn’t see a thing. But he knew that was part of the transforming process.  
“No, Vaati, stop!”  
Vaati opened up his eyes, awakening as a tall, “vile-looking” human. His purple hair flowed down past his shoulders and covering one of his bright red eyes. And he found himself wearing the most spectacular garb he could ever dream of. A violet tunic with a matching robe, (The hat was the same color as well) will ruby red sandals and matching pants.  
“My goodness, Vaati is that really you? You look so…vile!” Ezlo stared in awe.  
Vaati laughed, “Vile? Is that what you think I am? I am a sorcerer now, and my power is way beyond your level.”  
“…Why? What are you intriguing?”  
“Tomorrow is the Picori Festival and the door between our world and the humans opens. And then I shall claim the light force as my own! I am sorry, but if you were to get in my way, that would truly be a problem. You leave me no choice, Ezlo…” Vaati powered up dark magic into the palm of his hand and chucked it towards Ezlo.  
Ezlo screamed, not only in pain, but in shock. ‘How could Vaati do this to me? Is it all my fault that Vaati turned out this way? I’ve taken care of him, and loved him like he was my own son, and this is what happens?’ The thought hurt.  
When Ezlo looked down at his body he knew something was now VERY wrong. He had no arms or legs and looked like a green, coniferous hat with a long yellow beak.  
“W-what is this!? What have you done to me!?”  
“Hahaha! I’m sure not even a “famous, renowned sage” such as yourself could ever do anything like that. Though, I must admit, that is a good look for you. A talking-bird hat really matches your personality.”  
“What evil intentions are you up to?”  
“The mystic force was a gift to the humans from the Minish--The Light Force! I know that it’s out there somewhere! And I WILL find it! No matter what it takes. I’ll kill a million people if by all means I can have it! Now if you’ll excuse me, I must be leaving now…” Vaati stepped over Ezlo, kicking him partly. On purpose, of course.  
“No, Vaati! Wait! Stop!” Ezlo shouted. But it was too late, he was gone…  
************************************************************************  
Chapter II (2)  
Vaati strolled down through town as if nothing had happened. The human world was much more modern than his own. Many of the things he had never seen in his life. He had known most of the people in Hyrule Town but none of them knew him. He had only seen them from a distance. ‘They’re either looking at me because they’ve never seen me… or for my risqué appearance! Alright, where do I start looking? I’m guessing the Force is somewhere in the castle. But I can’t sneak in without people getting a suspicious feeling about me…’  
Just then a sign stapled onto a streetlight pole caught his attention. In big red letters the sign said: MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT!!! Vaati rolled up his sleeves as if he were about to sock someone and approached the sign as he thought, ‘Martial arts? Ha! I could beat all those losers at that, no problem! But now is not the time to show-off. I need to find the Force!’  
As Vaati was about to leave the sign, some more words caught his fancy so he decided to read the whole thing: 

MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT!!!  
Tournament starts at noon, participants meet at the Hyrule Castle Coliseum at 11 fifty. Award ceremony begins at 1 o’clock. The winner will be rewarded with a most outstanding prize! Participants must be signed up! For details, see Potho Bokbrook, Minister of Hyrule.

Under the flyer was a sign up sheet where many other people had signed their names. On the top of the sheet: “Age and years of experience are required” was written in neat, cursive letters. A white feather pen tied to a string was dangling from the clipboard. And Vaati signed his name, stopping for a minute, reminding himself that he hadn‘t had any years of experience, even though he was sure he could kick everyone else‘s butts, he also knew that they wouldn‘t accept him if he just put down “none.”

Name: Vaati Picoru Age: 15 Years Of Experience: 7

‘Yes, that will do!’ Walking off happily, knowing that in no time, he would be in the castle and the Light Force would be his.  
************************************************************************  
Chapter III (3)  
Vaati checked into the “Happy Hearth Inn” and rented a room for the night. Vaati lied about his age when the lady at the front desk asked. A sign on the wall said that a person had to be at least eighteen to rent a room without an adult along with various other rules that Vaati highly disagreed with.  
“Alright, just sign your name here…you don’t look eighteen or older, are your parents here with you?” the lady asked. ‘I do NOT need parents!’ Vaati thought as his face steamed up.  
“No, I’m here by myself.” Vaati said.  
“Then I’ll need your parents to accompany you. I’m sorry, but, we can’t have little children running around here and causing trouble.  
“I’m not a child! I’m eighteen years old!” Vaati snapped.  
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry for the mistake. That’ll be fifty rupees, then.” The woman extended her arm for the money. ‘Fifty rupees for a single-person room?! That’s ridiculous!’ But without causing a scene he handed over the money and took his key.  
************************************************************************  
Chapter IV (4)  
Vaati awoke tired, and groggy. The sound of knocking at his door woke him up.  
“Housekeeping!” a young girl called and by the sound of her accent, she couldn‘t understand a word of Hylian. She sounded like she was from one of the western most countries outside of Hyrule.  
“No!” Vaati shouted over the noise. The girl knocked again.  
“Housekeeping?”  
“I said ‘no’!”  
“Would towels you like?”  
“No!”  
“Pillows you like?”  
“No, I have everything I need! I’m only staying for one good night’s sleep and that was disturbed by you!”  
“Dirty laundry?”  
“NO!” Vaati snapped. And the girl went away. Just then he looked at the clock on the wall. It was 11:35. Only fifteen more minutes until he had to be at the coliseum. Glad that the housekeeper had woken him up he scrambled out of bed and was out the door in less than five minutes.  
************************************************************************  
Chapter V (5)  
As Vaati arrived at the coliseum ten minutes later, he stared up at all the tall, muscular men that he would have to compete against. Vaati was half their size and probably about half their age as well. But this didn’t make him fret, because he knew he had magic on his side. People in the stands were clapping, whistling, shouting, and overall cheering.  
A short, stubby old man with a thick, white mustache and rosy cheeks on his round face entered. He had squinty green eyes and he was bald on the top of his head. He was dressed in clothing that made him look like royalty as he held a large scroll in his hand.  
“Good morning, gentlemen! Most of you may already know me. I am the minister of Hyrule, Potho Bokbrook. I will also be your coach for the next ten minutes!” ‘Whoop dee doo!’ Vaati thought. “Today is, as you know, the day of the Picori Festival, which means…”  
“Martial arts tournament!!!!” all of the men, except Vaati cheered.  
“That’s right,” Potho said, “Now, I want you to remember, this is only a tournament, and if you lose, it won’t be the end of the world…” ‘It’ll be the end of MY world.’ “But remember that you should only try your very best, now go out there and give ‘em hell! Phil, Matt. You‘re up first.” Potho stood in the center of the coliseum and shouted to the audience like a ring leader.  
“Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! For many years we have celebrated the annual Picori Festival in honor of the legendary Picori spoken of in the legends. But only once every hundred years, the portal between our world and theirs opens. Remember, children, if you believe in the Picori enough, you may even see one! And when there is a Picori Festival, there is…a martial arts tournament!” Potho paused to let the audience cheer, then continued his speech, “And I am happy to say that we have a nice big bunch of strong men here today! And they look like they’re ready to kick some behinds!” Audience cheers again. “Up first we have Mathew Jones and Phillip O’Connor.”  
All of the men except the ones who were up sat down on the bench leaning against the wall of the stadium. Vaati sat in a corner of the bench as the men started to talk amongst themselves. Suddenly, a guy with a blonde buzz cut and a gap between his two front teeth tapped Vaati on the shoulder.  
“What’s you’re name, noobie?” he asked.  
“Vaati, Vaati Picoru. Why?” Vaati folded his arms.  
The buzz cut guy snickered along with many other laughs coming from the other men.  
“Picoru? What kind of a name is that?” the buzz cut guy implied.  
“It’s one letter away from ‘Picori!’ How about that!” another guy said.  
“Hey, noob, are you a Picori or something? Are you gonna come and grant our wishes for us? And read us bedtime stories?” Vaati glared, knowing they were making fun of his name. He was ready to throw a punch, but he wanted to save all the anger he could for his turn to fight.  
“Look at his hair! It’s so long!” the buzz cut man tugged Vaati’s hair.  
“Ew! There’s a girl here!” the second man said. Vaati rolled his eyes. ‘They’re grown men, yet they act like young children!’  
“Potho! Disqualify Vaati, he…I mean SHE is a girl and shouldn’t be here!”  
“Jeff, Peter, Brian! Quit teasing Vaati!” Potho shouted taking his eyes off of Matt and Phil.  
Matt won the first round. Even though Vaati didn’t want to look up to people as being better than him, he was stunned at how great Matt’s skill was. ‘He’ll never be able to withstand me!’ thought Vaati confidently.  
After many rounds, everyone had had their turn fighting. Vaati hadn’t needed to fight against Matt, so defeating everyone else was easy. Vaati didn’t want to use his magic just yet. He’d wait for the last round to make his grand finale.  
Matt would take a break on the bench usually when Vaati would be up which made Vaati lucky. Three rounds after, Potho called out, “Last round: Jeff McGregor and Vaati Picoru!”  
The guy with the blond buzz cut and Vaati got off the bench. Vaati was happy that he would get to fight Jeff and take out all his frustration on him.”  
Jeff and Vaati stood face to face and Jeff fluttered his eyes in a mocking way. Vaati gritted his teeth angrily.  
“I can’t wait to crush you!” Vaati mumbled.  
“What‘s that? You have a crush on me? Oh I feel so delighted that a pretty, pretty princess loves me!”  
The bell dinged and Potho shouted, “Begin!” Jeff came charging at Vaati and knocked him down the first time. He held out his hand, “Aw! I’m sorry, young lady, I didn’t mean to hurt you! Are you okay? Would you like me to call 911? Would you like me to take you to the hospital so they can patch up your boo-boos? Here, let me help you up!” Vaati snarled, as he sprung up and zapped Jeff with all his might, knocking him to the ground.  
Potho held Vaati’s wrist and raised it. “The winner of this years tournament: Vaati Picoru!” The audience chanted Vaati’s name as he looked down his nose at Jeff, sticking his tongue out.  
************************************************************************  
Chapter VI (6)  
The award ceremony took place right after the tournament. Vaati had expected it to have taken longer to set up, but he decided that they must have done it all beforehand. All the other men went back to join their families at the festival and the castle nurse was tending to the second degree burns that Jeff had suffered from Vaati.  
As for the champion himself, Vaati was told by Potho to wait outside the castle courtyard until they called his name. He waited patiently as told until Potho called him in.  
As Vaati entered he saw Potho, four guards, an elegant-looking man who he assumed was the king, a young girl with long blonde hair who looked like the princess, and a boy with green clothes and long blonde hair. (long for a boy, but not nearly as long as Vaati’s)  
Vaati smiled at Potho and bowed to the king. ‘Imbeciles! They don’t suspect a thing!’ he thought. ‘Now, where’s my Light Force?’  
“Vaati, you have won the tournament, and earned the honor of touching the sacred Picori Blade and, as a prize, you have won this sword.” Potho handed the sword out to Vaati. ‘What?! No Light Force?! Well, I’ll make SURE that I get it! It must be in that chest!’  
“Move aside!” Vaati commanded, pushing the guards out of the way, trying to open the chest with his hands. One of the guards held him back.  
“Oh no, you don’t!” the guard said. “You may touch the Picori Blade all you want, but you may never open the chest!” Vaati glared and stepped back.  
“Alright then,” he began, “you wanna play hard ball? Then I’ll play hard ball!” A sphere of dark purple and black magic charged up in Vaati hands as he aimed it at the chest. He covered his eyes as a swarm of monsters flew out of the chest and around everyone, knocking the guards, the king, and Potho away.  
The only people left standing in his way was the princess and the boy. The young princess approached Vaati.  
“Who are you? Why are do doing such bad things?”  
Vaati smirked, “So, you’re the nice young maiden with the sparkling aura. The mystical power still flows within the veins of the ladies of its royal family? Interesting. It would be a real problem to let people like you roam around and get in my way later on. That won’t do, my no…TO STONE WITH YOU!!!” Vaati screamed as he blasted his evil spell at the young girl and in an instant, she was a statue.  
The small boy in green was in shock. “Princess Zelda!” he cried and then turned to Vaati, glaring, “How dare you!”  
Vaati laughed. “And now to get rid of the other pesky insects that will be an obstacle for me.” The boy dashed for Vaati but the sorcerer managed to punch him in the nose with on single blow, knocking the boy unconscious. “That is what you get for messing with me! Now then, let’s see what we have inside this chest…” Vaati approached the chest where the Picori Blade had once been, but was now lying in the grass, shattered. ‘Yes! The Force will soon be mine! MINE!!!’  
But to his surprise, the chest bared nothing. Vaati was speechless. “…What!? Empty!? So, there was nothing in here but a bunch of monsters?! This is unacceptable! Oh well, I know the Force I’m after is somewhere out in Hyrule. I don’t need to hurry, I’ll just take my time looking for it. Hah hah hah!” And just like that, he was gone.  
************************************************************************  
Chapter VII (7)  
Vaati transported to the first place he could think of, back to Hyrule Town. ‘I’ll get the Light Force, but I need to take care of some unfinished business.’  
Right near the house with the teal roof tiles, which was Mollie Harris’s house, Vaati’s childhood friend; was Mollie’s grave. She had passed away when Vaati was only ten from a serious allergy to mushrooms. Vaati had led her into the forest and showed her his old house, which was a mushroom, and she had gotten sick. Ever since then, Vaati had felt it was all his fault that it had happened.  
He knelt down by her grave and ran his finger against the engraved letters. He removed his hat from his head, setting it down beside him and put his hair behind his ears, revealing both of his crimson eyes.  
“I still love you, you know, Mollie.” Vaati said. He picked two clovers from the side of the house and laid them one crossing over the other over her grave.

Vaati walked into the café, and everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him, shaking in fear. Vaati smirked. ‘Wow, news spreads fast, huh?’  
Vaati knelt down on the floor, trying to find someone in particular. Now, you’d think that if somebody was trying to look for someone they’d look low AND high. But Vaati knew he wouldn’t have any luck trying to find who he was looking for at his current level. The people he was looking for were at a lower level. They were Minish.  
He looked and looked until he found them. Those little rats that called themselves “Cobra, Thunder, and Arsenic.” They were in their same clothes as before. They were now around the age of twenty and twenty-one, but time didn’t split them apart. They were still together in their gang. The three Minish looked up at Vaati.  
Though he had a new appearance, it wouldn’t take a moron to know that it was Vaati. Same purple hair and skin, same red eyes… Instead of seeing him as a tiny spec of a creature, they looked up at him with fear in their eyes, knowing that what they did to him had made him angry and what terrible things he was now capable of.  
Vaati grinned at them, “Good morning, boys.” They just stood there. “Well, don’t say hello.” Vaati continued.  
They all spoke at once, trembling, “H-hello, Vaati…”  
“Long time, no see. But I can see you’ve haven’t changed a bit since I last saw you.” No response. “Heh heh heh! You’re still so pathetic! So ignorant!”  
“N-no, h-hard feelings, right, Vaati?” Cobra said.  
“Fools! You’ve hurt me! Badly! And I can’t never forgive you.”  
“Vaati, that was…five years ago…” Arsenic replied.  
“And I’ve been living in fear for those five years! Five long miserable years!”  
Thunder spoke up, “Please forgive us, Vaati! We’re sorry! We’re sorry!”  
“It’s way too late for that. You obviously don’t understand that what you did scarred me for life. You broke my right arm and left leg! Not to mention twisting my ankle and throwing me into the fountain! I’m almost died because of you! You bullied me and Mollie! She was my only friend, and when she died you didn’t even care! And since then I’ve been living my life in regret! Thinking that it was all my fault! And now…” Vaati stood up. The three gang members flinched, but didn’t flee. Vaati continued, lifting his foot up and above Cobra, Thunder, and Arsenic‘s heads. “I’m going to kill you…”  
************************************************************************  
Chapter VIII (8)  
Strolling out of the café with the wonderful feeling that he had gotten something off his chest, Vaati decided it was time to stop dawdling and try to find what he was looking for. Vaati threw his hand down, and was gone in an instant.

He arrived at the Palace of Winds after that. ‘The wind people must know SOMETHING about the Light Force!’  
Trying to keep his footing, Vaati started to feel dizzy from the high altitude. He lost his footing, felt his head become light, and everything went dark. 

There was a small girl wearing a blue dress and a bonnet that covered most of her fiery red hair which was held up in two buns on the top of her head. She, along with a young woman who looked like the little girl were leaning over Vaati.  
“Look, sister! He’s awake!” the young girl said.  
“What happened?” Vaati asked. He realized he was inside the palace, lying in a bed in one of the rooms.  
The woman spoke up, “You must have fainted because you are not used to the thin air here. Are you feeling any better?”  
“I guess so. But that’s not what I came for. I want you to show me your leader!”  
The girls cocked their heads in confusion, “Leader?”  
“Yes, I must see him!”  
“You must be mistaken, we have no leader.” the young woman said.  
“The closest we have to a ‘leader’ would probably be the elder that lives on the fourth floor. And she’s a lady.”  
“Show her to me!”  
“The elder is getting old, she cannot go anywhere very well anymore. You’ll have to go up and see her yourself.”  
Vaati got up and left the room.  
The floors started to get fancier as Vaati went up them. He counted the floors and he was at the fourth. It looked beautiful. The walls looked like they were ancient Aztec and vines covered some of them. There was a large door that he assumed was the elder’s door. He burst in and a big woman who looked about eighty something jumped, startled. Her gray eyes looked as if they had seen better times and her pastel pink hair was probably more vivid when she was younger. A boy who looked like the girl downstairs, except with shorter hair and a bit older stood by her side. He shuddered at the sight of Vaati and started to whisper something into the lady’s ear. She whispered something back, but Vaati could not hear it.  
“May I help you, young man?” she asked.  
“Where’s the light force?”  
“Light force? There is no such thing here. Might I ask your name?” said the old woman. Vaati wasn’t exactly sure that she had the Light Force, but he knew he had to pry at everyone he came across just in case they did know the location of the mystical force.  
“Don’t lie to me! Where is it!?”  
“I already told you, there’s nothing like that here.”  
“Oh, and I suppose you think it’s somewhere else?”  
The boy answered in her place, “I could be. Whatever it is you’re looking for, it is not here.”  
Vaati glared. “I told you not to lie to me! Tell me where it is this instant or your precious elder will pay!” he said raising his voice, almost turning into Ezlo. The old woman gulped and looked up at her assistant as if you were saying “Don’t let him hurt anyone!”  
“We already told you, we don’t know where it is!!! No lies! Cross my heart!”  
Vaati glared and pointed at the elder woman. “You will pay for this!” Magic shot from his finger and towards the elder. With a look of fear on her face, the elder stood frozen in shock.  
“No!” the boy yelled and ran to the elder, pushing her out of the way only to be hit by the magic himself. And with that, he tumbled toward the ground, motionless. The elder bent before him when the guards rushed up and gathered around.  
“He’s alive, but barely. We need to get him to the infirmary fast!” One guard said.  
Vaati rolled his eyes at them as he turned and walked toward the door which he had come in through. He stopped and turned around. “You will regret this day! My name is Vaati! And I will soon overpower you all! Remember that name!” And once again, Vaati disappeared.  
************************************************************************  
Chapter IX (9)  
Meanwhile, in town, Ezlo was still in his hat form. He had gone through the portal and had made himself the size on a human’s hat. No one noticed him because he was almost near the forest. That’s the first place he assumed Vaati would be. After all, he always went there to feel better. Finally he got there.  
“Vaati! Vaati!” Ezlo shouted. His voice echoed through the woods. “Vaati!” He called once again. Just then some Octoroks seemed to appear out of nowhere as they started spitting rocks at him.  
“Ouch! Ow! Help!!! Anybody! Ouch!”  
Ezlo had almost lost hope until he saw Link watching in amazement. He had never seen a hat talk before.  
“You there! Boy! Please, come and help me!!!”  
“Ummm…” Link said confused.  
“What?! Do you actually enjoy watching me be tormented!? Get over here and help me!!!”  
“Uhh, okay…” It didn’t take long for Link to defeat the Octoroks. “Okay, I killed the Octoroks. You’re safe now.” Link started to walk off. Ezlo was about to let him, but he thought maybe he could help him.  
“Wait! Wait!” Ezlo yelled.  
“What? You’re safe now, little hat, go home to your coat rack!”  
“Wait, I need to talk to you for a bit!”  
“About what?! I saved you, there’s nothing for you to worry about! Now please, go away!”  
“No, please! Don’t leave me!”  
Link rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m already in a bad mood. The princess was turned to stone by this guy named Vaati, I have to get her back to normal TODAY, and now I have you following me arou-”  
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a second!…Did you just say that Vaati turned the princess to stone?”  
“Yeah, why? Are you on a quest to bop him on the head with a sledgehammer, too?”  
Ezlo jerked his head back, “Um, no. It’s just. I too, am trying to break a curse of his. I was thinking maybe we could work together to find him. You can give me a place to ride so I don’t have to walk, and in return, I’ll give all the advice and insight I have to offer. So, what do you say? You don’t have anything to lose…”  
“Hmm, I guess you can come with me. You seem like a funny little hat to hang out with, anyway.”  
“Hey!”  
“Don’t take it offensively, I meant that as a compliment.”  
‘Whatever happens, I hope this boy doesn’t turn out like Vaati did.’ Ezlo thought.  
************************************************************************  
Chapter X (10)  
The water in Lake Hylia was deep. As Vaati got closer, he could feel the water creeping up into his sandals and soaking his feet. The water made him nervous, for he had nearly drowned twice back when he was ten and his mother died in a flood. But Vaati knew that he had to do whatever it took to find the light force.  
Walking along the edge of the water, Vaati began to feel his sandals slip. Sooner than he’d realized, he was sinking into the lake.  
“Ah! Help, I can’t swim!” Struggling to get out, he stood up and realized the water just went up to his waist where he was. “Oh. Never mind.” There was a small cabin in the distance. Vaati was starting to get tired so he figured he’d stop there and rest.

The cabin was deserted, it looked like someone could have been using it a long time ago, but abandoned it. There was a jar of crackers sitting on the table, but they looked stale. There was a sign written in Minish language about the jar:

The Cobra Trio: Keep Out, or ELSE!!!

‘I didn’t know Cobra and the gang had a secret hideout.’ Vaati thought. He removed the jar and a Minish-sized, beat-up old couch sat in the very corner with a note in between the two cushions.  
Vaati snatched it from there and unfolded the piece of paper. He squinted his eyes, trying to read the note--which was also written in Minish--he noticed the note was, in fact, a written scheme from three years ago.  
As Vaati held the note in his fingertips, his forehead formed beads of sweat as his eyes widened.  
“They did that to Miss Rikki?!”  
************************************************************************  
Chapter XI (11)  
In town, Vaati face was hot as he shrank himself back to Minish size (still in his human form) and ran to Miss Rikki’s house.  
Like most of the Minish in town, she lived in an apartment inside the walls of a human house. Panting rashly and his heart pounding against his chest he knocked on her door. Miss Rikki answered it. She had been looking down, but when she look up at Vaati, she gasped. Though she had known his sweet side for many years, she had also heard about his evil side from Ezlo. And the look in her eyes told Vaati that the news of him killing Cobra, Thunder, and Arsenic had gotten around to her.  
“V-Vaati, hon. Is there something wrong?” You could tell she was trying to be polite and trying not to seem frightened of her former student.  
“Pooka, the-the…” Vaati began panting.  
“Say no more, sweetie. Come inside.” Miss Rikki stood to the side as Vaati walked in and plopped down on her couch with flowery designs on it. “Vaati, I heard about what happened. I know about everything, even about what happened to the three boys this morning. It’s been a very hard life for you. But please! Please, don’t turn to the devil!”  
“That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”  
“What is it, then?” She put her arm around Vaati, hoping it could comfort him and make him lose his evil ways.  
“Remember three years ago? And that somebody broke into Patsy’s Shop and blamed it on you? It’s was them! It was the trio!”  
“Vaati, when I told Patsy the story, she believed it wasn’t me. It’s all okay. None of that matters anymore! What matters is that I want you to give up being evil and come back! You don’t need power to be strong! What it takes is a strong heart! Remember?”  
“Miss Rikki, I’ve chosen my fate.”  
“This isn’t your fate! It’s just a big mistake is what you made. I don’t like you this way! I want the old Vaati back! The one who knew that he had a friend in everybody, the one who cared for his master, the one who loved Mollie with all his heart.”  
Vaati bit his tongue thinking about Mollie. Staring off with an angry look for a few seconds, he got up, walk to the door and said. “Don’t you ever mention her to me again!” and with that he walked off, trying to shake off the fact that Mollie was dead  
************************************************************************  
Chapter XII (12)  
The slimy water in the swamp was disgusting. Venomous snakes slithered around, and breathing in the air would be suicide. But because it was such a deserted place, made it a great area for something as great as the light force to be hidden. Nobody would dare to enter the dangerous, bottomless swamp.  
Vaati did not like the idea of wearing sandals in a bog. He didn’t like the idea of wearing any type of shoe in a bog, which made sandals the worst. It was times like these where Vaati wished he had worn boots instead. The muddy water crept in between his toes, giving him that un-assuring feeling of not knowing if it was mud or a leech.  
Vaati rolled up his pants and began to walk through the marsh with a sick look on his face. A cave appeared in the distant fog. Two torches were lit on both sides, as if it were welcoming Vaati in to get the Force.  
Vaati smiled and began to laugh, “The force will be mine very, very soon!!!” Just then, he felt something, or things hanging on to him. Lifting one leg up to look, there was a family of leeches sucking his blood. “Gah! Damn it! Leeches! Get off! Get off! Get off!” Luckily, they had had enough and fell of immediately after Vaati brushed them off with his hand.  
“Oh geez! Getting the light force is going to be harder than I thought. But at least I’m not doing this all for nothing!”

Vaati approached the cavern. A small girl, who looked about four was standing there. She wore big black rain boots that were way too big for her, a yellow rain hat over her silky, light brown hair, and a pink dress that went down to her knees. She probably lived in a house somewhere in the swamp. She stared up at Vaati with her dark brown eyes.  
“You there, girl! Let me through into this cavern!”  
“Sorry, mister, I can’t let you do that. This area is off-limits.” She sounded rather intelligent for her age.  
“That’s a command! Now let me through! Now!” Vaati lowered his eyebrows, glaring at her.  
“No, nobody is allowed to enter this cavern. It’s strictly forbidden.”  
Vaati fired up his dark magic, ready to kill. “Let me through right now, or you will die!”  
The girl stared into Vaati’s devastating eyes with fear. She looked so innocent. She covered her eyes with her hands as Vaati flicked his hand, trying to zap her, but he realized that…he couldn’t! Was it that he had no more power? No. Vaati just couldn’t.  
Vaati looked into her eyes. Her dark brown eyes, her soft wavy hair, her rosy cheeks and her pink dress.  
“Mollie…” Vaati muttered. She looked like a human version of…Mollie! No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t bare to kill her. “…I can’t…I can’t kill you.”  
The girl removed her hands from her eyes. “You…can’t?”  
“…No…” Vaati looked down. “I can’t bare it.”  
Vaati turned around and walked back to the marsh. Forgetting all about the light force. ‘All the evil things I’m doing…what would Mollie think of me now?’  
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Chapter XIII (13)  
Vaati sat down on a rock in Royal Valley, trying to calm himself down about Mollie. He could just see her watching him from wherever it is you go after you die, looking down at him with disappointment. ‘Shall I stop? Stop this right now?…No, Get a hold of yourself, Vaati. You‘ve come this far, already. You can‘t give up now!’ Vaati’s stomach started to grumble. It was no wonder. He hadn’t eaten since yesterday, before he stole Ezlo’s cap. Desperate for food, he ate the first thing he saw: some red berries on a branch. Though they had a bitter taste, anything tastes good when you’re starving.  
Vaati ate them as he sat down against a tree as he began to feel sick. He put his hand to his stomach. “Ugnh.” Following that, he began to see colored spots dancing around. “M-my head…it’s spinning.” The pastel colors of pink, teal, yellow, and various other colors swirled around and then…blackness.

“Hey!…Hey!…HEY!” Vaati flelt a hand slapping against his cheek. He opened his eyes. There sat a boy about the age of thirteen beside him. He had spikey black hair, somewhat tanner skin than most Hylians, and orange eyes. He was wearing a navy blue fleece shirt with black shorts, brown and dirty boot-like shoes and a black cape.  
Vaati looked up at him with confusion. “You not supposed to eat Cyanide Berries, you moron!” The boy said.  
“Oh really?” Vaati said, glaring.  
“Really, monkey-brain. You better be careful. What are you doing in these parts anyway?”  
“Who wants to know?”  
“Doom wants to know!”  
“Doom?” Vaati asked.  
“Me, you nut head! Geez, the berries didn’t make you stupider, did they? You didn’t answer my question! What are you doing here?”  
Vaati peered into Doom’s concience. Was it okay to tell him about the Force? “My name is Vaati. Do you know anything about the Light Force?” Vaat asked.  
“Of course I do!”  
Vaati perked up, “Do you know where it is?”  
“Yeah!” Doom nodded excitedly.  
“Where?!”  
“Up on the top of Mount Crenel! Follow me!” Doom got up and ran off. Vaati followed.  
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Chapter XIIV (14)  
Mount Crenel was a dangerous place for thirteen and fifteen year old boys to be climbing up. Much less anybody, for that matter. Due to it’s rockslides every so often, many who would attempt to climb the mountain would wind up as a flattened pancake at the bottom. It was practically suicide.  
Doom’s hands had no problem with the sharp rocks as he hand very rough hands. Vaati, on the other hand, was not very good at climbing ever since they replaced the string from the bookmark that Vaati and Ezlo would climb up to get home, with a ladder. Making it much easier on Vaati, who was scrawny and didn’t have much meat on his bones--and Ezlo, who was getting older and weaker by the day.  
“Ung! How can you climb it this easily?” Vaati grunted.  
Doom held out a hand as if he were waving, “Built-in padding! Ha ha!” he joked.  
The two reached a flat area in the mount where they sat to rest for a while. Doom yawned and stretched out his arms and legs comfortably and lounged against the wall of the mountain. While Vaati collapsed to the ground, red-faced, and panting like a dog in the sun.  
“Are you hungry?” Doom grinned getting into Vaati’s face.  
“Yeah, I guess.” Vaati closed his eyes, worn out.  
Doom pulled out a piece of bread and handed it to Vaati. “Here.” As Vaati reached his hand out to grab it, Doom pulled it back and smiled.  
“But…” he began, “You have to promise me something.”  
“What?” Vaati was lying face-down.  
“That when we get your Light Force, you HAVE to share it with me!”  
Not even paying much attention to the meaning of Doom’s words, Vaati agreed. He held his hand out for the bread, but when he didn’t feel the soft, piece in his hand, he looked up.  
Doom was already eating it. “What? Did you really think I was going to give this to you?”  
************************************************************************  
Chapter XIV (15)  
Vaati and Doom reached the top at at last. Vaati scanned the area. No Light Force!  
“…Where is it?” Vaati wondered.  
“Where’s what?” Doom asked.  
“The Light Force!”  
“The Light Force? What’s that?”  
Vaati’s eyes widened as he grabbed Doom’s shirt. “What do you mean ‘What’s that?’ You said you knew what it was! You said it was up here!”  
“Did I say that?” Doom tilted his head, putting his index finger to his chin.  
“Yes, you did!” Vaati snapped. His firey red eyes flaring. He let go of Doom’s shirt and glared. “You liar! You just got me up here on purpose you sleeze! I oughtta murder you!” Vaati fired up his magic.  
“Take it easy there, Vaat. I didn’t mean any harm. I just felt like joking, that’s all. Don’t worry. I’ll show you where it is. Follow me!”  
Vaati gritted his teeth. “You better be right this time.”  
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Chapter XIVI (16)  
Since Doom didn’t have magic powers, he couldn’t transport like Vaati could or doing anything else that used sorcery. Doom had the body strength, but Vaati had magic. Which made them fairly even. 

In North Hyrule Field, they shaded themselves under a tree. Vaati was getting thirsty, so he knelt down by the river to get a drink.  
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Doom said, “A portion of that stuff is sewage coming from the castle.” Vaati put his head up and made a disgusted face. “Yeah.” Doom smiled and nodded.  
“What‘s your story?” asked Vaati.  
“What do you mean?”  
“Like how did you become evil?”  
“I didn’t become evil! I was born evil!”  
“You can’t be born evil.” Vaati gave a disbelieving look and began to pull up sweet blades of grass and chew on them. Minish would tend to do that if they were outside. Except it wasn’t as easy to tear off a piece of grass at that size.  
“You can so!” Doom argued. “And anyone who doesn’t believe me can burn!”  
Vaati laughed. “How come I didn’t know you when I was in middle school?”  
“What happened then?”  
Vaati sighed and sat against the tree trunk. “When I was five, my father died, and when I was ten, my mother died. That‘s when I met my master, Ezlo. He was really strict and I wasn’t used to it, so I got in trouble with him a lot. I was bullied by this gang of boys--they’re long gone now--but this really cute girl name Mollie defended me against them. But one day, she died because of an allergy. I was almost eleven then. And I know it’s all my fault. Ezlo said it wasn’t, but it is. After that, from 6th grade up until now, I’ve hated everyone.”  
“Even Ezlo?”  
“Everyone! I was one of those kids you’d see lurking in the dark spots, giving people dirty looks, beating them up if they looked at you funny…you know.”  
“What school was that?”  
“Minish Middle School.”  
Doom snickered. “You? You can’t be a Minish!”  
“I am so. And anyone who doesn’t believe me can burn as well.”  
“Well, at least my story is reasonable! You look nothing like a Minish!”  
“Don’t believe me?” Vaati pulled out a tiny coin, a little smaller than your pinky fingernail. “This is a Pic-tata. It’s what we Minish use for money.” Vaati chewed another blade of grass, smiling.  
“I still think it’s a bunch of bull.” Doom crossed his arms. “And why are you eating grass? That’s just gross!”  
“You want some?” Vaati smirked holding a clump in front of Doom’s mouth.  
“…No.” he made face. “Well…you’ve followed me this far, the least I could do is tell you the truth. I don’t really know where this “Light Force” is. In fact, I don’t even know what the hell it is. But before you get all mad at me, I have some advice that may help you.”  
“What is it?”  
“It’s ah-wait! Someone’s coming!” Doom grabbed Vaati by the collar and covered his mouth and they hid behind the tree.  
Link was walking out of the castle wearing Ezlo--that’s right--Ezlo on his head. Vaati glared. ‘Ezlo’s helping him stop me? How dare he!’ Vaati ran out. Doom grabbed his cape, but let go when Vaati turned around and gave him the evil eye.  
Vaati appeared before Ezlo and Link. They both looked shocked.  
“Well, master. We meet again.” Vaati folded his arms and approached them.  
“So we do, Vaati.” Ezlo glared.  
“Master?” Link was dumbfounded.  
“I see you haven’t had a change of heart since I last saw you. It was a mistake to keep that hat laying around where you could get your filthy hands on it.”  
Vaati laughed. “And I have you to thank. As I’ll be leaving, I must give you a gift as a token of my gratitude to you.” Vaati smirked evilly and powered up a ball of magic in the tips of his fingers. He shot the blast, hitting both Link and Ezlo, knocking them out temporarily.  
The young man returned back to Doom with a smile of satisfaction.  
“Who were those guys?” Doom asked.  
“My old master and some dumb kid with his sword. No big deal.”  
“Why do you think they were coming from the castle?”  
“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out soon enough! What was your plan?”  
Doom shifted his eyes, “Possess the king.”  
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Chapter XIVII (17)  
Vaati took a look at his new body as the king of Hyrule. Doom shaped both of his thumbs and index fingers in a rectangular shape, using it as a frame.  
“How do you like it?” Vaati asked proudly.  
“Too old. I like your other body better.”  
“Me too. Doom, call in the guards! And put this on.” Vaati tossed a bulter’s garment to Doom.  
“I’m not gonna wear this! I’ll look like a fruit!”  
Vaati pounded his fist on the arm of his throne. “Now! And from now on, your name will be Julius. Now, you go get the guards to come to me.”  
Doom frowned. “I hate you so much.” he began to walk off. ‘But it will all pay off. Hee hee!’  
************************************************************************  
Chapter XIVIII (18)  
“Your highness! Your highness!” Potho came bursting through the door. Vaati looked up and smiled. Even though he knew Potho thought he was the king, Vaati knew that everyone would be bowing down to him once he got the Light Force.  
“Yes, Potho.” Vaati said.  
“Link was just here!” Potho began. ‘Link!’ Vaati shuttered. ‘Curse that name!’ “He’s already fused the earth element and the fire element into his sword and he says only the wind element and the water element remain!”  
“Elements?”  
“Yes, Link says that with all four he can fuse into the Four Sword and break the curse on your daughter!”  
‘Blast! I must stop him!’ “That’s wonderful! Uh…that will be all master Potho. Julius! Julius!”  
Potho exited the audience chamber and Doom entered with fists. “What?!” he snapped.  
Vaati motioned his finger, telling Doom to come to him. “Link is going to break the princess’s curse!” Vaati whispered.  
“Who?”  
“Link! You know, the boy in green we met awhile ago!? He’s going to break princess Zelda’s curse!!!”  
Doom shrugged. “So?”  
“So, if her curse is broken then she can get in my way! She has a mystic power that I have no control over. And if she were to be freed from her curse, then I would lose my Light Force.”  
“…Do I have to be called Julius?”  
Vaati grabbed Doom’s shoulders and shook him. “Who cares about that right now?! My plan’s going to be ruined! And I’ll look like a total fool in front of everyone.”  
“You look like a total fool already!” Doom said, looking down at the king’s body with Vaati’s voice.  
Vaati slapped him…it felt good! Vaati had never slapped anyone before, because there was no one to do it to. Ezlo would whack him with his staff if he ever disobeyed, but Vaati never had the authority to hit him back. So he didn’t.  
Doom rubbed his cheek with his hand. With his new body, Vaati didn’t even know his own strength.  
“I hope that teaches you a lesson!” Vaati said.  
“No one tells me what to do! You go to hell, Vaati!” Doom gave a loathing look and ran off.  
************************************************************************  
XIVIV (19)  
The day grew shorter. The bright orange sun was beginning to dissapear behind the trees in the west. Vaati had sent the guards to look for the Light Force some time ago. They had not returned yet. The sound of footsteps approaching got Vaati’s attention.  
“…Doom? Is that you?”  
But it was Link, holding a wrapped up sword. Potho was with them.  
“Your Majesty. Link is here.” Potho said.  
Him and Ezlo both looked up at Vaati--who they thought was the king--with a smile. He thought it would be a sunny day in fog valley when he saw Ezlo smiling up at him.  
“The holy sword is complete, your Majesty; and I‘ve collected all of the elements.” Link began.  
“Your daughter will be back to normal in no time.” Ezlo said. “Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Ezlo.” ‘I already know that!’ Vaati thought. “I have been helping Link in his quest. The story about the princess is very heartfelt. And I will do whatever it is in my power to stop Vaati.”  
“Oh really?--er um, that’s great!”  
“Can you show me the way to the sacred realm?”  
“The what now?” Vaati tilted his head.  
“The sacred realm, your highness.,” informed Potho, “Link, you can find it in the courtyard. Allow me to show you the way.” Potho led the way.

In the courtyard, Potho stood to the side and pointed to a wall.  
“Here it is.” Potho smiled. “Do you see it?”  
“Yes, I do.” Link smiled back.  
“See what?” Vaati asked.  
“The entrance to the sacred realm, it’s right here.”  
Vaati shook his head, “I don’t see anything but a wall. You two are obviously playing tricks on me. How dare you!”  
Potho, Link, and Ezlo stared. “…You…really don’t see it?” Potho asked, confused. “If there’s anyone who can see it, it must be you, your highness.”  
Vaati squinted his eyes, pretending to look. “Oh, there it is! I’m sorry, I must be losing my sight, haha!” But he could still only see just a wall.  
“Well, your highness, master Potho, I guess we’ll be going now.” Link said. For a moment, Ezlo just stared into the “king’s” eyes. As if he could see right through him. ‘Those eyes…I know I’ve seen them before…’ Ezlo thought but ignored it.  
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Chapter XIVV (20)  
Though Vaati could not get to the sacred realm by using the entrance, he figured the only way to get there was Four Sword.  
Vaati transported to the sacred realm as Link and Ezlo were reading the engraved lettering beneath the stained glass window:

“A long, long time ago  
When the world was on the verge of being swallowed by shadow  
The tiny Picori appeared from the sky, bringing the hero of men a sword and a golden light.  
With wisdom and courage, the hero drove out the darkness.  
When peace had been restored, the people enshrined the blade with care...  
…And the mystic force lies within Hyrule’s princess”

“That’s it!” Vaati said with a laugh.  
“Your highness?” Link seemed worried.  
Vaati transformed back to his former self, zapped Link and Ezlo and left.  
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Chapter XIVVI (21)  
Vaati put a spell under the whole castle and everybody had turned to statues. Not only that, he had transformed the bright, shining Hyrule castle, to his own dark palace and went for the princess.  
Doom was leaning against her with a smirk. “Did ya miss me?”  
“Doom, where have you been?!” Vaati made an angry face.  
“Oh not much, really.” he looked at his nails. “Had some fun, killed some people, but hey, that’s life, right?” Doom said.  
“Link and Ezlo will wake up soon. They’re going to try to stop me. I’m going to take the princess to the roof, and I’ll get my Light Force. When you see them, ring the bell and warn me! Okay?”  
“Well, let’s see, I’ll have to check if I have the time, patience and the devotion to do whatever some jackass tells me. Let’s see um….no.”  
Vaati slapped Doom harder than before. “You do it right now!!!” Vaati roared.  
“Okay, okay! Fine! I’ll ring the bell when I see ‘em.” Doom said, his fingers crossed behind his back.  
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Chapter XIVVII (22)  
Using all his magic, Vaati did all he could to get the Light Force out of the princess. He tried once. It didn’t do it. He tried twice. No.  
Zapping the statued princess, he was beginning to feel weak. Then, he heard a crack in the stone and a great power was filling his body as he began to feel stronger and stronger by the second.  
But soon something had slashed at him. It was Link. ‘Doom was supposed to warn me! That little creep!’ He thought.  
Vaati felt his hands tingling with the power of the Light Force. Though, he had not obtained all of it (which would kill the princess if he did), he had enough of the Light Force to overpower them both.  
“Ha ha ha ha! You think you can hurt me with that?” he laughed evilly.  
Link looked at the princess, turned to stone. He glared, gripped his sword tightly in his hand and charged at Vaati once again. Before he could reach him, Vaati shot him down with one blow of dark purple magic.  
Link was beginning to close his eyes, Ezlo peck at his head. “Wake up, Link! You can’t pass out in a time like this! You’ll die!” Link struggled opening his eyes and got up.  
“How are we supposed to defeat him?” Link panted. “Does he have any physical weaknesses?”  
Ezlo looked at Vaati. “Not that I know of.”  
“That is because I have no weaknesses! I am all powerful!” Vaati laughed maniacally. “Soon I will kill you. Even you, Ezlo! You’ll regret the way you treated me! You two will both go to hell for this!”  
Ezlo looked down. ‘I must have been the fuel to his evil ways. Why didn’t I see the signs? I thought I was doing a good job of raising him, and since the day he cursed me I’ve thought that he was the criminal, but…maybe the real antagonist is me…’  
Link bottled up all of his anger, anger about the princess, anger about the pressure and frustration he went through to get the elements, anger at Vaati. His face was red and hot. His sweaty hands squeazed his sword as if it were a stress ball. Gritting his teeth, Link screamed with a loud “Yahhh!!!” and charged at Vaati.  
Before Link or Ezlo even knew it, Vaati was kneeling on the ground. The sword lodged into his stomach. Blood gushing from the wound.  
“Ugn.” Vaati put his hand on his stomach. He put his other hand down on the ground to hold himself up as he gagged and vomited blood. He breathed heavily. Where was Doom when he needed him? Vaati’s eyes scanned his surroundings. His eyesight we getting fuzzier by the second. By now, both he and Ezlo had something to regret: “I caused all this.”  
But it was too late too change anything now. Vaati looked up at his former master, and Ezlo looked down at his former apprentice. ‘It’s over. I killed him…’ Ezlo thought.  
“…Master…please…” Vaati stared up at Ezlo, “help me…” Vaati said.  
Ezlo said nothing. He just kept looking down at Vaati with part sympathy and part disgust. Thinking back to how he loved Vaati, and wouldn’t allow anything to harm him made Ezlo want to jump right off of Link’s head and go to comfort Vaati as he was dying. After all, he knew at this point, he wouldn’t be able to save him even if he wasn’t in hat form.  
But remembering that Vaati had said he was going to kill Ezlo kept him stationed on Link’s head. Seeing his former apprentice bleeding on the ground, Ezlo looked down upon Vaati as if a pathetic insect that he was about to execute.  
“Master Ezlo…please! I-I need you!” Tears streamed down his face as he grabbed onto Link’s leg, looking up at Ezlo.  
“No, Vaati. You lost. You have to face the facts.”  
“I can change!…I’m sorry, Master! I’m sorry! Now, please…do something!” Vaati sobbed. “It hurts….” he vomited some more blood.  
“I’m not going to help you because…I don’t believe you deserve to live.”  
Vaati froze and stared up at Ezlo with disbelief. He felt…betrayed. Both he and Ezlo did.  
“No…!” Vaati gagged. “No! Master, please!”  
“I’m not your master. And you are no longer my apprentice…I don’t love you anymore.” Ezlo said coldly.  
Tears continued to stream down Vaati’s face as he laid down on the ground on his side, beginning to curl up in a ball, shaking from the blood loss. Ezlo said nothing more as he watched the boy he’d raised and loved go limp and die.

The End

**Author's Note:**

> I repeat: Doom is not Shadow Link!


End file.
